Filed Under:South by Southwest

We are proud to offer “Rest” a new mp3 from Parts & Labor’s forthcoming release Constant Future. The song perfectly encapsulates the band’s ability to take elements of noise and turn them into a truly infectious pop song. Starting today, you can pre-order the record from InSound and receive an instant mp3 download of the new album. You can also stream a new track from the album each week at PartsandLabor.net. On March 8, P&L will celebrate the release of the new album with a show at Monster Island Basement in their hometown of Brooklyn, NY (Check out the band’s awesome video flyer HERE). From there they will be touring to this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival, with fellow Brooklynites Pterodactyl. Pterodactyl’s guitarist Joe Kremer, will join Parts & Labor on all dates, and P&L’s Dan Friel will sit in on Pterodactyl’s sets playing electronics and keyboards. Check out full tour dates including new dates here in the U.S. and in Europe after the jump.

Check out the new video above for Small Black’s “Photojournalist” from their latest album New Chain. While filming the video, Small Black and director Yoonha Park, played with the idea of photo vs. memory. The band and director spent a full day shooting with one actress and followed up a few weeks later with a different actress, attempting to recreate the exact same shoot from memory without referring to the earlier footage.

In other news, Small Black is heading to South By Southwest this year, and will be playing dates with Cults, Sun Airway, and Toro Y Moi on their way to the festival. Check out the full tour dates after the jump.

Parts & Labor’s Constant Future will be in stores March 8 (March 7 in the U.K.) but you can get your first taste of the future today. We’re proud to present the first Mp3, the title track from Constant Future. The song begins with a signature Parts & Labor synth melody before being pummeled with a percussive drone ticking along like clockwork, literally moving us into the future. Parts & Labor’s Dan Friel sings of our collective thirst for the “next” and the “newest.”

“Constant Future” is just the first song of many to come as Parts & Labor will be streaming a new track from the album each week on their website between now and the March 8 release date. Check out the newly revamped website, designed by Parts & Labor’s BJ Warshaw (who is also responsible for the album’s brilliant cover art) right HERE.

In other Parts & Labor news, the band will be traveling down to Austin, TX for the South By Southwest Music Festival in March. On their way down to the festival they’ll be joined on tour w/ fellow Brooklynites and Brah recording artists Pterodactyl. Parts & Labor will also be touring Europe in May. Check out all the dates after the jump.

Following some rollicking appearances at SXSW, OKKERVIL RIVER’S Will Sheff recently gave a lesson in songcraft to the young minds of Austin’s The Bat Cave, a non-profit writing and tutoring center. laid down an intimate performance of “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” with fellow Okkervil members Travis Nelsen and Lauren Gurgiolo. Watch the performance below.

At SXSW 2009, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans and Secretly Canadian partnered with YouTube to capture the many stunning performances at their Thursday showcase blowout at The Mohawk. To peep all the videos, go to http://www.youtube.com/sxsw and click on the “Musical Performances” option. Check back daily as new performances are posted